Šamaš-šuma-ukin
King of Babylon as a vassal of the Neo-Assyrian Empire / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Šamaš-šuma-ukin[lower-alpha 1] (Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: Šamaš-šuma-ukin[4] or Šamaš-šumu-ukīn,[5] meaning "Shamash has established the name"),[5] was king of Babylon as a vassal of the Neo-Assyrian Empire from 668 BC to his death in 648. Born into the Assyrian royal family, Šamaš-šuma-ukin was the son of the Neo-Assyrian king Esarhaddon and the elder brother of Esarhaddon's successor Ashurbanipal.
Šamaš-šuma-ukin | |
---|---|
King of Babylon | |
Reign | 668–648 BC |
Predecessor | Esarhaddon |
Successor | Kandalanu |
Born | before 685 BC |
Died | 648 BC |
Akkadian | Šamaš-šuma-ukin Šamaš-šumu-ukīn |
Dynasty | Sargonid dynasty |
Father | Esarhaddon |
Mother | Ešarra-ḫammat |
Despite being the elder son, Šamaš-šuma-ukin was for unknown reasons bypassed as heir to Assyria. His designation as heir to Babylonia was likely devised by Esarhaddon as a means to counteract future rivalry and jealousy between the brothers. Although Esarhaddon specified that Šamaš-šuma-ukin was to swear an oath of allegiance to Ashurbanipal, the clear primary heir, Šamaš-šuma-ukin was also referred to as Ashurbanipal's "equal brother" and Ashurbanipal was to stay out of his affairs. This part of the succession plans were not upheld by Ashurbanipal after Esarhaddon's death; Šamaš-šuma-ukin only acceded to the Babylonian throne months after Ashubanipal had become king and was throughout his reign a closely monitored vassal, not entrusted with all of Babylonia or substantial military forces and only allowed to make decisions if they were approved and verified by Ashurbanipal.
Šamaš-šuma-ukin assimilated well into Babylonia, despite being ethnically and culturally Assyrian. His royal inscriptions are far more "quintessentially Babylonian" than those of other Assyrian rulers of southern Mesopotamia, using Babylonian imagery and rhetoric to an unprecedented extent. He participated in the Babylonian New Year's festival and is recorded as partaking in other Babylonian traditions. The Statue of Marduk, the main cult image of Babylon's patron deity Marduk, was returned to Babylon in 668 at Šamaš-šuma-ukin's coronation, having been stolen from the city by his grandfather Sennacherib twenty years prior.
Though Šamaš-šuma-ukin maintained peaceful relations with his younger brother for many years, resentment gradually grew between them due to Ashurbanipal's overbearing control. In 652, Šamaš-šuma-ukin revolted, inspiring the Babylonians to join him and recruiting a coalition of enemies of Assyria, including the Elamites, Chaldeans, Arameans and perhaps the Medes. Though the conflict was initially indecisive, it eventually ended in disaster for Šamaš-šuma-ukin. Babylon was captured by Ashurbanipal in 648 after a lengthy siege and Šamaš-šuma-ukin died, though the exact circumstances of his death are unclear. After his defeat and death there is evidence of a large-scale damnatio memoriae campaign, with images of the king being mutilated, erasing his face.